There is a very specific type of pain known only to artists and crafters. It is the heart-stopping moment when you see someone handle your professional-grade tools like they are dollar-store crayons. We aren’t talking about a pack of RoseArt markers here; we are talking about the expensive stuff that you practically need a loan to acquire. One man on Reddit recently lived through every artist’s worst nightmare when his family visited, and the aftermath has turned into a legal battle that has the internet rallying behind him.
The OP (Original Poster) and his wife are serious artists. They have dedicated an entire room in their home to their craft, converting it into a studio filled with thousands of dollars worth of supplies. The OP specifically mentions his Chartpak markers, which run about seventeen dollars a piece. For the uninitiated, these are not the markers you give a toddler to doodle on a placemat at Denny’s. Because of the value, the couple usually keeps the door locked, which is rule number one of having nice things when children are in the vicinity.
However, during a family birthday party for an aunt, the OP and his wife made a fatal error: they forgot to lock the door. We have all been there, distracted by hosting duties and cake, letting our guard down for just a second. About an hour into the party, the OP realized his brother-in-law’s kids (ages six and seven) were suspiciously quiet and nowhere to be seen. When he asked his sister-in-law where they were, she casually dropped a bomb that would send shivers down anyone’s spine: she had told them to go draw in the art room.
Let’s just pause on the audacity of the sister-in-law for a moment. She didn’t just lose track of her kids; she actively directed them into a room that wasn’t hers, to use supplies she didn’t pay for, without asking the hosts. The OP rushed to the room to find absolute carnage. The kids were smashing the tips of his expensive markers, effectively ruining them. When he yelled at them to get out—a completely natural reaction to seeing hundreds of dollars being destroyed—the tears started flowing.
Enter the brother-in-law (BIL), who immediately went into defense mode. instead of apologizing for his unsupervised children destroying property, he yelled at the OP, claiming “they’re just kids” and “it’s just markers.” When the OP explained the price tag, the BIL called him “stupid” for paying that much. This is the logic of someone who buys single-ply toilet paper and thinks wine comes in a box. Just because you don’t understand the value of a tool doesn’t mean it is worthless.
The situation escalated when the BIL started yelling at the OP’s wife, arguing that they can’t have art supplies in their own home and expect kids not to want to use them. This is the “if I see it, I own it” philosophy of parenting, and it is exhausting. The OP demanded reimbursement for the damaged goods, and the BIL responded with a classy “go f*ck yourself” before storming out.
The damage wasn’t just to the markers. The kids had also drawn over a piece the OP had spent a week working on and ruined a finished piece by his wife. The total bill came to $375, not including the hours of labor lost on the art. When the OP sent the bill, the BIL blocked him. So, the OP did what any self-respecting person with a spine would do: he lawyered up. He had a friend draft a claim for small claims court.
Now the family is in an uproar, accusing the OP of being petty over “some markers.” It is always fascinating how people become socialists when it comes to other people’s money. They are ignoring the fact that $375 is a car payment or a decent grocery run. The only person on the OP’s side is his father-in-law, who also paints and understands that you don’t touch another man’s brush—or in this case, his Chartpaks.
So, is the OP the ahole? Absolutely not. Parents are responsible for the damage their children cause. If your kid throws a baseball through a window, you pay for the window. If your kid destroys professional art supplies because you were too lazy to watch them, you pay for the supplies. The BIL tried to gaslight the OP into thinking he was wrong for owning nice things, and now he is going to have to explain that logic to a judge.
What would you do if your relatives destroyed your expensive hobby gear and refused to pay? Would you let it slide to keep the peace, or would you take them to court like the OP? Let us know in the comments if you think the BIL should pay up!